Gold Standard Solutions

The Dispensary
Marketing Playbook

Every strategy, guide, and framework we use to drive revenue for cannabis dispensaries. Written by the agency that has generated over $1M for individual New York dispensaries. Free. No gating.

39
Strategy Guides
4
Platform Guides
15
Topics Covered
100%
Cannabis Specific
43 guides
Strategy Guides
39 Guides

Complete playbooks on the channels, strategies, and tactics that drive dispensary revenue. Written from real client experience, not theory.

Benchmarks Report
2026 Cannabis Email Marketing Benchmarks Report
Open rates, click rates, SMS revenue per send, LTV, CAC, and deliverability thresholds from 23 managed dispensary programs and 370,000+ loyalty members. The numbers nobody else in cannabis will publish.
April 202614 min
Read Report
Programmatic Advertising
Cannabis Programmatic Advertising: The Complete Guide for Dispensaries
How programmatic advertising works for cannabis brands. DSPs, audience targeting, CTV, display, audio, DOOH, and geofencing — the full channel stack with real performance benchmarks.
April 202614 min
Read Guide
Platform Guide
Cannabis-Friendly Email Platforms: Which Ones Won't Shut You Down
Which email platforms allow cannabis marketing? Alpine IQ, SpringBig, Dutchie, Klaviyo, Moosend — which are safe, which are risky, and which will suspend your account overnight.
April 202614 min
Read Guide
DOOH Advertising
Cannabis DOOH Advertising: Digital Out-of-Home for Dispensaries
Digital billboards, street furniture, transit screens, and place-based displays. How programmatic DOOH works for cannabis brands with targeting, compliance, and budget benchmarks.
April 202611 min
Read Guide
List Building · Guide
How to Build a Dispensary Email List That Generates Revenue
In-store capture, online opt-ins, QR codes, loyalty enrollment, Dutchie checkout integration — every method that builds a compliant, high-value dispensary email list.
April 202610 min
Read Guide
Video Advertising
Cannabis Pre-Roll Video Ads: In-Stream Advertising for Dispensaries
Pre-roll, mid-roll, and outstream video formats for cannabis brands. Creative best practices, completion rate benchmarks, and how to sequence video with display retargeting.
April 202612 min
Read Guide
Automation · Playbook
Dispensary Abandoned Cart Recovery: Email & SMS Sequences
The 3-touch recovery sequence that brings back 15-25% of abandoned online orders. Trigger timing, copy, compliance, and setup on Dutchie, Alpine IQ, and SpringBig.
April 202611 min
Read Playbook
Advertising Attribution
How to Measure Cannabis Advertising ROI: Attribution for Dispensaries
Device graphs, foot traffic attribution, media-mix modeling, and POS integration. The complete framework for connecting ad spend to dispensary revenue.
April 202612 min
Read Guide
Automation · Playbook
Dispensary Winback Email Sequence: Re-Engage Lapsed Customers
The 3-email winback sequence that reactivates lapsed dispensary customers at 3,240% ROI. Trigger timing, subject lines, discount strategy, and platform setup for Alpine IQ and SpringBig.
April 202612 min
Read Playbook
Display Advertising
Cannabis Display Advertising: Programmatic Banners That Actually Convert
Banner sizes, creative best practices, retargeting sequences, and real performance benchmarks. Everything dispensaries need to run compliant display campaigns that drive store visits.
April 202611 min
Read Guide
Automation · Playbook
Dispensary Post-Purchase Email & SMS: The Follow-Up Sequence
The 4-touch post-purchase flow: thank-you, cross-sell, review request, and replenishment reminder. Turns one-time buyers into repeat customers with 266,016% SMS ROI proof.
April 202613 min
Read Playbook
Lifecycle Automation
Dispensary Birthday & Anniversary Email Campaigns
How to build automated birthday and loyalty anniversary campaigns with 45%+ open rates. 3-touch sequence, offer strategy, personalization by purchase history, and platform setup.
April 202611 min
Read Guide
Omni-Channel Advertising
Cannabis Advertising Without Google or Meta: CTV, Programmatic, and Geofencing
The channels that actually work when Google and Meta are off limits. Connected TV, programmatic display, geofencing competitor locations, and streaming audio explained.
March 202610 min
Read Guide
Retention Strategy
Dispensary VIP & High-Spender Program Guide
Your top 20% of customers drive 60-70% of revenue. How to identify, tier, and retain them with VIP segmentation, exclusive flows, and churn-risk automation in Alpine IQ and SpringBig.
April 202614 min
Read Guide
Omnichannel Strategy
Cannabis Email & SMS Retargeting Integration Guide
How to sync your email/SMS segments with programmatic display and CTV campaigns. Identity resolution, hashed matching, and cross-channel attribution for dispensary retargeting.
April 202612 min
Read Guide
Email Strategy
Dispensary Email Subject Lines: 7 Formulas That Drive Opens
Proven subject line formulas with real open rate data from managed campaigns. A/B testing frameworks, cannabis-specific language tips, and the spam trigger words to avoid.
April 202611 min
Read Guide
Compliance
Cannabis Dispensary Advertising Compliance: The Complete Rules Guide
What dispensaries can and cannot advertise across email, SMS, digital, and outdoor channels in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
March 202613 min
Read Guide
Email Design
Dispensary Email Design: Templates & Best Practices
Layout principles, mobile-first design, image-to-text ratios for deliverability, product showcase layouts, CTA placement, and cannabis-specific design rules.
April 202612 min
Read Guide
Compliance
Dispensary SMS Compliance Guide: TCPA & State Rules
Federal TCPA requirements, state-specific rules for NY, NJ, CA, IL, OH, MI, and FL. Opt-in mechanics, required disclosures, record-keeping, and how Alpine IQ and SpringBig handle compliance.
April 202613 min
Read Guide
Strategy
Dispensary Email & SMS Frequency: How Often to Send
Optimal send cadence by dispensary type, segment-based frequency, seasonal adjustments, and the revenue math behind over-sending vs under-sending.
April 202611 min
Read Guide
Calculator · Tool
Dispensary Email & SMS ROI Calculator
Interactive calculator: input your list size, send frequency, and AOV to project monthly and annual email/SMS revenue. Benchmarks from 23 managed programs included.
April 202610 min
Run the Calculator
Platform Guide
Klaviyo for Dispensaries: Can You Use It?
Klaviyo's cannabis policy, the real risks of using it for THC marketing, and the compliant alternatives that actually integrate with your POS and loyalty platform.
April 202611 min
Read Guide
Tutorial · 25-Day Playbook
How to Recover a Dispensary Email Domain in 25 Days
The exact recovery protocol we used on CS08 to take a program from 0.55% to 18.17% open rate in 25 days. Week-by-week volume cuts, audience cleanup, and controlled warmup. Steal the playbook.
April 202613 min
Read Tutorial
Automation · Playbook
Dispensary Welcome Email Automation: The 5-Email Sequence
The complete 5-email welcome flow we build for dispensary clients. Subject lines, full email copy, send timing, expected open and click rates, and cannabis-specific compliance notes at every step.
April 202613 min
Read Playbook
Unit Economics · Calculator
The Dispensary LTV Equation + Interactive Calculator
The exact lifetime value formula we use for every client, a live calculator to run your own numbers, and the LTV / CAC benchmark bands from 23 managed programs. Anchored to $54.18 CAC and $67,555 LTV from CS09.
April 202612 min
Run the Math
Diagnostic · Deliverability
Why Your Dispensary Email Open Rate Is Sliding
The five most common causes of falling dispensary email open rates, a 15-minute diagnostic to find which one is hitting you, and the fix order we follow on every client program.
April 202611 min
Run Diagnostic
Email Marketing
The Complete Guide to Dispensary Email Marketing
Platform selection, list building, automation flows, compliance rules, and the campaign strategy behind $12.35 per message sent. Everything dispensaries need to run email the right way.
March 202612 min
Read Guide
SMS Marketing
Dispensary SMS Marketing: The Full Guide
Opt-in flows, message cadence, compliance rules, and the segmentation strategy that separates high-performing SMS programs from ones that churn subscribers.
March 20269 min
Read Guide
Loyalty Programs
Dispensary Loyalty Programs: How to Build One That Generates $1M+
Tier structure, point economics, enrollment strategy, platform setup, and the automation flows that turn loyalty from a perk into a revenue engine.
March 202610 min
Read Guide
Retention Strategy
How to Retain Dispensary Customers: The Complete Retention Playbook
How email, SMS, and loyalty work together as a retention system. Win-back sequences, lifecycle segmentation, and the metrics that tell you whether your investment is working.
March 202611 min
Read Guide
SEO Strategy
Cannabis Dispensary SEO Guide: How to Rank on Google in 2026
Google Business Profile optimization, local content strategy, technical SEO, and link building for dispensaries that cannot run Google Ads. The complete organic search playbook.
March 202618 min
Read Guide
4/20 Marketing Strategy
4/20 Dispensary Marketing: How to Maximize Your Biggest Sales Day
The complete 4/20 marketing playbook. Pre-event list building, the exact send schedule, in-store loyalty enrollment, and the 30-day retention sequence that turns holiday visitors into year-round regulars.
March 202612 min
Read Guide
Grand Opening Strategy
How to Market a Dispensary Grand Opening: The Complete Playbook
Pre-launch list building, opening day loyalty enrollment, and the 90-day retention plan that turns opening week visitors into regulars. The complete grand opening marketing playbook.
March 202612 min
Read Guide
New York Market Strategy
How New York Dispensaries Can Beat the Gray Market
The loyalty, customer experience, and marketing strategies that win customers away from illegal gray market operators and build retention that compounds over time.
March 202611 min
Read Guide
Agency Selection
How to Choose a Cannabis Marketing Agency That Actually Drives Revenue
Red flags, key questions, realistic pricing, and how to tell whether an agency actually knows cannabis or is just saying they do.
April 202610 min
Read Guide
Market Intelligence
New York Cannabis Market 2026: What Dispensary Owners Need to Know
License landscape, borough-by-borough competition, gray market impact, consumer trends, and what it all means for your dispensary marketing strategy.
April 202612 min
Read Guide
Local SEO
Dispensary Local SEO in New York: How to Rank When You Can't Run Ads
Google Business Profile optimization, borough-level keyword targeting, review strategy, and the on-page SEO that gets New York dispensaries into the local 3-pack.
March 202611 min
Read Guide
Marketing Budget
How Much Should a Dispensary Spend on Marketing? The Real Numbers
Channel-by-channel cost breakdown, expected ROI from real client data, budget scenarios by dispensary size, and where to put your first marketing dollar.
March 20269 min
Read Guide
Loyalty Programs
Win Customers. Keep Them. Beat Your Competition.
How to build a loyalty program that beats competitors from day one. Competitor audit, tier structure design, platform setup on Alpine IQ, SpringBig, and Dutchie, and ongoing management.
Service GuideFull Overview
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